By Yvette Lin, Staff Writer
Positioning her club, senior Sidney Hsu prepares for her final putt at individual playoffs on June 2. This comes after Hsu and junior Nicole Yang placed 4th and 2nd at Rio Hondo Individual League Championships on May 5.
Girls and Boys Golf
Cheers of joy filled senior Sidney Hsu’s ears as the coaches announced girls golf as the winning team at league finals on May 13. The team qualified for team CIF while Hsu and junior Nicole Yang qualified for individual playoffs following the league championships. The girls golf team was one of many teams that qualified for CIF.
“Golf is a pretty individualistic sport, and before joining the girls golf team, I was close-minded,” Hsu said. “After working and playing with the golf team I was able to learn better ideas and techniques that helped improve my game, and I worked even harder than before because I felt that my score really mattered.”
With a combined score of 216 at the league finals, girls golf captured their second consecutive league title. Individual players competed at playoffs on May 20 at Marshall Canyon. The team placed 8th at the CIFSS Team Championships on June 8 and will advance to CIFSS SCGA.
“Advancing to CIFs really shows the skill growth of our team,” Hsu said. “I hope we can make it far in playoffs and that the team can one day even make it to the final round.”
Freshman Kai Hirayama of the varsity boys golf team advanced to the CIF Individual Regional Tournament after placing first at the Rio Hondo League Individual Finals.
Girls Softball
The girls softball team went undefeated and earned the league title and a qualifying spot in the playoffs. The team won their first matchup against Burbank Burroughs High School on June 3, but lost 5-4 during their second matchup against Hemet High School on June 5.
“I’ve been dreaming of winning league since my freshman year and for it to finally happen was a big accomplishment for the team as a whole,” senior Summer Johnson said. “Making CIF was also another big accomplishment, every game that led us to making CIF was always a team effort and couldn’t have been done without the team’s efforts and talents.”
This comes after players had less than a month of practice together before games against other schools commenced. The time crunch and the need for players to communicate well on the field motivated the players to form closer bonds with one another.
“My most memorable moment I had while on the team was our team bondings,” Johnson said. “It’s one thing to have your side conversations while at practice, but being able to devote time to getting to know your teammates and spending time with them was definitely a special and very important part of my softball experience at TCHS.”
Boys and Girls Soccer
Boys varsity soccer advanced to the second round of CIF after a 2-0 win against Los Altos High School. The win served as a boost of confidence for the team after dealing with multiple injuries on the roster. Despite their loss in the second round against Cornerstone Christian, the team hopes to continue working hard next year.
“One thing I’ll be taking away from this game is the memorable experience of being able to play my last high school game with guys I grew up with,” boys soccer player and senior Nathan Tran said. “I plan on taking the same work ethic I developed in soccer and the goal of going as far as possible into the entirety of my life.”
Girls soccer won the wild card round with a score of 2-1 against Highland High School, securing them a spot in the playoffs, but lost in the first round to San Dimas High School.
Boys and Girls Swim
For girls swim, sophomores Kimberly May and Cadence Lee, junior Isabella Gonzales and seniors Abigail Rousseau and Kayanne Tran qualified for CIF while for boys swim, sophomores Alex Jiang, Kai Chen, Dennis Lee and junior Gene Naono qualified.
Boys Tennis, Girls Basketball, Track
Boys tennis and girls basketball lost in the opening round of their respective playoff brackets. Senior Clarissa Hong competed in CIF Individuals for the 3200 meter race on June 5 and placed 16th. Though the track team did not qualify as a whole, its members hope their experiences will help propel them into the playoffs next year.
“Self reflecting upon myself during quarantine made me realize that my peak performances were only a result of having someone to impress, something to represent, something worth winning,” junior Wasim Khan said. “My goal for next year is to win long jump and triple, because I feel that I don’t have that much between me and 1st place next season, only a few inches more or less, which can easily be accomplished.”